Trenton really deserves all the credit. He recently started a new running program and it has totally inspired me to get my ass back in shape. At Carleton, we had easy access to the rec center, and working out was never really an issue. The biggest inconvenience (besides the 8 minute walk across campus) was the fact that on Sundays, I think the rec center closed at 9pm instead of midnight. What. A bitch.

After college, I had to get a little more creative about finding ways to stay fit. I haven’t ever been able to afford a gym membership, but my first apartment in Madison was right next door to Lake Monona, which has a beautiful bike/jogging path all the way around it. I invested in some decent running shoes and tried really hard to convince myself that I enjoyed running. It worked, for a time, and I lost a few inches here and there. I never really fell in love with it, though. It still felt too much like PE, and with all the other people out on the path, I felt competitive and slow.

Things improved when I moved back to Louisville. My apartment complex had a teeny tiny little gym with a stationary bike, a treadmill and an elliptical machine. I found myself enjoying the time in the gym and spent more and more hours there. I started taking trashy magazines or pulp novels with me and treated it like an indulgence. I enjoy the solitude and the focus. It’s like going for a long drive without the radio on, when you’re free to let your mind drift. And the necessary task of putting one foot in front of the other prevents my mind from drifting too far.

Lately, exercise has taken a backseat. A reverse-facing backseat. It’s a vicious cycle and one that I know we’re all much too familiar with. Lack of exercise makes you tired which prevents you from exercising. After starting at CASA though, I gradually began to add more activity into my daily routine. The parking garage is 3 blocks away from the office, and I started walking during my lunch break. A few weeks later, I started parking on the 6th floor and taking the stairs to and from my car every day. It was this little accomplishment that really pushed me over the edge back into the proper motivated frame of mind that I needed. 6 flights was just enough to get me puffing a little, but not so much that I died before getting to my car.

Then, the other day, I put my running shoes back on. Mom and I walk the reservoir loop on a fairly regular basis, but that day I decided to add a few meters of jogging in between. My original plan was to walk an edge, run an edge, walk an edge, run an edge. Instead, after the first edge, I found my body wanted more. To my surprise and delight, I ended up running a quick mile and feeling pretty satisfied and smug. The next day I went out and ran two, albeit at a much slower pace.

Today, I’ve just arrived home after 2.25 miles in the wind and rain. I’m like the fucking postal service. But I can feel something different this time, and I’m starting to see why all my friends have begun training for marathons. I’ve been a staunch non-runner for so long that it feels strange to admit this, but I loved it this time, and I can’t wait to get out there again.